Officials are still trying to reach those who have not done this year's census as the final deadline looms at the end of the week.
The unofficial participation rate is sitting around 89 percent - just short of the 90 percent target.
Over the next few hours, officials are hoping around 51,000 New Zealanders fill out the form.
The official final day to fill out your census form was over three months ago, but in order to capture as many New Zealanders as possible Stats NZ is giving people until 5pm on Friday to provide their information.
Sisters Kim and Ionga were filling in the census for the first time at Buttabean Motivation gym in Manukau.
Kim completing the census for the first time at Buttabean HQ in Manukau. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Kim said it was not something she felt she knew enough about - until now.
"To be honest, I actually didn't acknowledge it, I didn't understand what it was for, this year I've kind of clued-on more."
She was encouraging those who have not done so already to fill theirs in.
"Be accountable... we gotta do right for our younger generations coming up, if we don't sign up, we're not going to get a say."
Census data helps the government understand how New Zealand is changing as a country and is used to determine new policies, research, planning and to make crucial decisions in areas like health, education and housing.
Ionga said she thought the process was more complicated than it actually is.
"Didn't realise it was just a piece of paper, a couple of questions and it would help our country, you know, our community and ourselves."
In data provided to RNZ by Stats NZ, the estimated number of forms submitted compared with the predicted population indicates that around 89 percent of people have done the census so far.
The estimated Pasifika response rate is about 79 percent and Māori is at 75 percent.
In order to boost those numbers, community organisations like Buttabean gym have been brought on board.
Census officials hope to get Pasifika and Māori return rates up. Photo: RNZ / MARIKA KHABAZI
Buttabean's Dave Letele said they have signed up 300 people in the last month, offering supermarket vouchers and food parcels.
"At 8:30 in the morning there was a line here for people to come and complete their census and pick up a food parcel.
"These are people that are very hard to reach, when they come in we can connect with them and see what else they need, you know, going forward, so it really is a blessing."
Latele admitted this year was his first time doing it too.
"I'm 43 I think this year and this is the first year ever I've completed the census, and it comes from my first introduction to the system was when the police raided my house and stole all my Christmas presents.
"I hated the system from that day on... a lot of our people's experiences with the system are not good."
The team has been working to educate people on how their information will be used. But Letele said in order to reach high response rates, work with the community must continue.
"If you want to look at the next census we need to be continuing this mahi onwards, working with community groups, working with marae that have the trust of the people to try and continue that education."
Manurewa marae CEO Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp. Photo: RNZ / Simon Rogers
Another partner is Manurewa Marae, which has been promoting the census since March, organising pop-up community events, and offering kai and koha.
Chief executive Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp said an intergenerational mistrust of authority has put some people off. But the marae is a safe place.
"We've recently demonstrated that through Covid, setting up our local vaccination centre here in four days. The Prime Minister came here and got vaccinated.
"So we have a lot of good things happening here where people see us, and so they say we trust Manurewa Marae."
They would love to see the numbers go higher, but Kemp said it has not been easy getting to this point.
"If we think about where we were a month, two months ago, we were at like 20 percent you know, so to get the numbers up like this, especially here in Tāmaki Makaurau, that's an attribute to those partners that are out there working."
She said partner agencies should have been given resources far earlier.
"The resource came but 60 days ago, so 60 days to do your amount of work that you've been asked to do for your community, that's just rubbish - but we do it because we know we can... that kind of resource needed to come months ago."
Officials will not know for sure if the 90 percent target has been reached until next year, once post-census surveys are completed.
